The present invention relates to an interactive voice response system which is coupled to an automatic call distribution system wherein communication termination equipment communicates a request for reserving an available agent to the automatic call distribution system and the communication terminal equipment is transferred to the reserved agent communication terminal equipment.
Interactive voice answering systems (known as interactive voice response units in this technical field) can be connected to communication systems; particularly, large private communication systems. An interactive voice response system is disclosed, such as, by European Patent Application 0 611 135 A1. A voice response system can be called and controlled by arbitrary communication terminal equipment connected to the communication system or communication terminal equipment switched via further communication systems. Information, for example digitalized voice information about articles of a concern, are usually controlled or, called in the interactive voice response system dependent on the inputs of the calling communication terminal equipment. Thus, for example, one of a plurality of offered or, callable pieces of information can be selected by a keyboard input or a voice input. The selected information is automatically forwarded as voice information from the voice response system to the calling communication terminal equipment, or, the calling subscriber, and is acoustically reproduced thereat.
Further, automatic call distribution systems also can be connected to communication systems; particularly, private communication systems. An automatic call distribution system is disclosed, for example, by DE 195 35 540 A1. Agent communication terminal equipment connected to the communication system is allocated to an automatic call distribution system. Incoming calls having a prescribed telephone number, such as a group telephone number, are forwarded to the automatic call distribution system by the communication system wherein free agent communication terminal equipment is identified. The automatic call distribution system subsequently influences the communication system in such a way that the incoming call is transferred over to the free agent communication terminal equipment.
Given calls to an interactive voice response system by the communication terminal equipment of the communication network, situations occur due to the limited scope of the voice response unit wherein calling communication terminal equipment or, respectively, a calling subscriber does not receive the desired information. In these cases, it would be advantageous to involve a person—referred to below as agent into the respective connection who can provide the information.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,981 discloses an interactive voice response system that is connected both to a communication system as well as to a data exchange. Operator terminals, to which a list of connection information that was determined by the voice response system in the connection setup of an incoming call is communicated with the assistance of a switching equipment, are connected to the data exchange.
The publication by M. Stahl, Dialogic's AMX/81 Family of Audio Multiplexer Products”, Speech Technology, MAN MACHINE VOICE COMMUNICATIONS, 1987, discloses a system configuration wherein an incoming call is first communicated to a voice response system. An automatic call distribution system is not connected to a communication system. Potentially under the control of the voice response system, the incoming calls are forwarded to the automatic call distribution system or, respectively, to the connected agents or agent communication terminal equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,452 discloses a communication system whereby interactive voice response systems are connected to a central controller that is connected to a communication network. Incoming calls are thereby sent by the central controller to available interactive voice response units and are processed thereat.